Scalable fabrication of efficient and recycling wood residue-derived sponge for crude oil adsorption

Fast, low-cost, and efficient technology for crude oil remediation is a challenge. Herein, we reported a wood residue-derived sponge immobilized with Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles (NPs) via the delignification, high-speed dispersion and freeze-drying processes, which allows fast and efficient cleanup of crude oil spill with the assistance of solar irradiation. Magnetic wood residue-derived sponge (M-sponge) with uniformly distributed Fe 3 O 4 NPs exhibits excellent photothermal conversion effect and can adsorb 172.62 g g −1 of crude oil in the first 15 min. Meanwhile, the M-sponge with good magnetic property is easily recycled by an external magnet and keeps high crude oil uptake of 154 g g −1 at least 10 adsorption-desorption cycles. Combining with the light weight (9 g m −3 , porosity > 91%), none harmfully hydrophobic chemicals, synthesis simplicity, and abundant starting materials, M-sponge design represents a high-value utilization based on forestry waste in the field of crude-oil remediation and water treatment .